Memorial Temple of Xu Nan Pavilion

Memorial Temple of Xu Nan Pavilion

The Memorial Temple of Xu Nan Pavilion is a protected cultural heritage site of Henan Province.

The Memorial Temple of Xu Nan Pavilion, also known as the Memorial Temple of Xu Shen, is located on Xu Shen Road in Luohe City, Henan Province. It was built to commemorate Xu Shen, a renowned classicist, philologist, linguist, and pioneer of Chinese philology during the Han Dynasty.

As you enter the Memorial Temple of Xu Nan Pavilion and walk up the stairs, the four large seal script characters “许南阁祠” stand out prominently. Stepping into the courtyard, you are greeted by a solemn atmosphere, with stone steles on either side recounting the original construction and subsequent renovations of the temple. At the center of the main hall, beneath a plaque inscribed with “Cultural Master,” the portrait of Xu Shen is flanked by a memorial tablet dedicated to the scholar, while both sides display research materials related to his seminal work, Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters). Standing in this memorial hall dedicated to this cultural luminary, a deep sense of reverence naturally arises.

According to the “Biographies of Confucian Scholars” in the Book of the Later Han, Xu Shen once served as Sacrificial Wine Pourer of the Southern Pavilion in the office of the Grand Commandant, and he is best known for his fourteen-volume work, Shuowen Jiezi. This book is a fundamental resource for the study of Chinese characters and has been highly regarded by philologists throughout the ages. In the late Qing Dynasty, the magistrate of Yancheng County, out of respect for this local sage, constructed this temple in the 28th year of the Guangxu reign (1902) to serve as a place for public veneration.

As time passed, the original Xu Shen Temple was not situated on a major urban thoroughfare. However, recent urban planning and the widening of city streets have placed the temple right in the heart of the bustling city, with the main road also being named Xu Shen Road. The temple was subsequently renamed the Xu Shen Memorial Hall. The renowned scholar Professor Wang Li gladly inscribed the plaque for the memorial hall, while Mr. Zhou Zumo composed and wrote in seal script the couplet: “Investigating the origins of written characters, preserving antiquity with sincerity—truly a model for Confucian scholars; exploring the essence of philological interpretation, delving into the minute and uncovering the hidden—rightly honored as a master of Han learning.”

Xu Shen, courtesy name Shuzhong (circa 58 AD – 147 AD), was a native of Wansuili in Zhaoling, Ruyang (present-day Xizhuang Village, Jishi Township), Eastern Han Dynasty. He was a celebrated classicist, philologist, exegete, and lexicographer of the Eastern Han period, and the author of Shuowen Jiezi, among other works.

Xu Shen (58–147 AD) and Shuowen Jiezi

Chinese characters are among the oldest writing systems in the world and the most enduring logographic script. Today, it has been discovered that the ease with which Chinese characters can be input into computers is unparalleled by any other writing system in the world. As people begin to take an avid interest in the study of Chinese… More detailed information on Xu Shen ++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Henan Province